Infrared radiant-heat driers are extensively used for drying printing inks, lacquers and the like. They contain bar-shaped radiator elements which usually comprise a transparent envelope and two electrically heated wires which are disposed in the latter and are the actual source of radiation. The rear of the envelopes is often coated with gold by vapour deposition in order, on the one hand, to radiate as large a proportion as possible of the radiation to the products to be dried and, on the other hand, to minimize undesirable heating of other parts of the appliance. The outputs of such radiator elements are up to 60 W.cm.sup.-1, and these powers hitherto necessitated an efficient cooling of the radiation drier strips; air cooling was adequate only for radiator elements having low powers of, for example, 25 to 45 W.cm.sup.-1.